# Survey123 review (2026): is it worth it? > ArcGIS smart forms for field data collection and survey analysis Checked Nov 13, 2026 ยท graded Nov 13, 2026 by ToolGPA. ArcGIS Survey123 is Esri's form-based data collection application, included with ArcGIS Online and ArcGIS Enterprise. Surveys are built in a web designer or an XLSForm desktop builder, filled in on phones, tablets or desktops, online or offline, and the results sync to the ArcGIS platform for maps, dashboards and reports. It is licensed through ArcGIS rather than sold as a stand-alone subscription. - **Category:** Forms & Surveys - **Made by:** Esri - **Website:** https://survey123.arcgis.com - **Runs on:** Web - **Who should skip it:** Skip it if you are not on ArcGIS, since the product is sold as part of it, not on its own. - **Facts last checked:** Nov 13, 2026 ## Pricing Survey123's current pricing could not be confirmed from its own site. ## Key features - **Two ways to build:** A drag-and-drop web designer, or a desktop XLSForm builder for more complex forms, with built-in rules, calculations and required fields. - **Offline field collection:** Surveys can be filled in with no connection and sync automatically when connectivity returns. - **Rich capture:** Photos, audio, signatures and barcodes, with location from the device GPS or external GNSS hardware. - **ArcGIS integration:** Results sync in near real time to the ArcGIS platform, where they can feed web maps, apps, dashboards and reports. - **Templates and AI-assisted creation:** Reusable templates and AI-powered form creation, plus a Survey123 assistant and beta AI text and audio analysis listed in recent updates. - **Esri support and training:** Technical support, training courses and an Esri Community forum are part of the offer. ## Good for - Organizations already on ArcGIS Online or ArcGIS Enterprise - Field inspections and reports where every response needs a location - Teams that want survey results shown directly on maps and dashboards ## Worth knowing - Survey123 is included with ArcGIS Online and ArcGIS Enterprise, so cost depends on the ArcGIS user types an organization buys; the pages read show no dollar prices. - Authoring and field apps are separate downloads (Survey123 Mobile, the field app, Studio and Connect) alongside the website. - The pages read do not list which operating systems each app supports, so only web is listed as a platform. - A next-generation Survey123 Mobile and Studio were in beta at the time of the vendor's latest update post. ## ToolGPA grades **GPA: 1.8 out of 4**, graded Nov 13, 2026. Survey123 is Esri's form tool for collecting data in the field, online or offline, and it sends the answers into ArcGIS. It comes with ArcGIS Online and ArcGIS Enterprise, so the pages we read show no dollar price, the trial length isn't stated, and if you aren't on ArcGIS already it makes little sense. - **Value for money: C.** No price is published: it is included with ArcGIS Online and ArcGIS Enterprise, so the cost depends on the ArcGIS user types an organisation buys. - **Free plan and trial: D.** A free trial is offered, but the overview page doesn't say how long it lasts or whether a card is needed, and there is no free plan. - **Features: C.** Two builders (web designer and XLSForm), offline collection, photos, audio, signatures, barcodes and GPS. The listing's own gaps: authoring and field apps are separate downloads and the next-generation apps were still in beta. - **Ease of use: C.** No store rating on record. You build the form yourself, in a web designer or an XLSForm file, and connect it to an ArcGIS account, so there is a learning curve. - **Platforms and integrations: C.** Only web is listed as a platform, because the pages don't say which systems the Mobile, Studio and Connect apps run on. It connects to ArcGIS Online and Enterprise only. These are ToolGPA's own grades. Graded from this listing, whose facts were read from Esri's own pages on 13 November 2026. Not based on using the product, and shorter than our full reviews. ## Where it stands among form and survey tools - Survey123's GPA of 1.8 is higher than 8 of the 148 other form and survey tools we grade, and level with 17. - It stands best on value for money (C, above 35 of 148) and worst on free plan and trial (D, above 18). The category's chart of price against score: https://toolgpa.com/charts/forms ## Keep it, or make your own? **Your call.** A form at its plainest is questions, a button and a table of answers. You could make the core of Survey123 for yourself: forms, surveys, reports and templates. What you would give up is listed below. Whether that is worth the price is your call. - You could make: Forms, surveys, reports and templates: an app builder makes these well. - You could make: It runs in a browser, which is where something home-made would run too. - You could not: AI features, unless you pay a model provider for each request yourself. A judgement by ToolGPA from this listing, by rules that are the same for every tool. Nothing was built to test it. ## Works with ArcGIS Online, ArcGIS Enterprise **Tags:** Forms, Surveys, Works offline, AI features, Reports, Templates ## Alternatives - [Fulcrum](https://toolgpa.com/tools/fulcrum): Offline field data collection with maps for crews and utilities. [Compare](https://toolgpa.com/compare/fulcrum-vs-survey123) - [KoboToolbox](https://toolgpa.com/tools/kobotoolbox): Open-source data collection for field surveys, online or offline. [Compare](https://toolgpa.com/compare/kobotoolbox-vs-survey123) - [Open Data Kit](https://toolgpa.com/tools/open-data-kit): Open-source mobile and web data collection. [Compare](https://toolgpa.com/compare/open-data-kit-vs-survey123) - [GoCanvas](https://toolgpa.com/tools/gocanvas): Mobile forms and workflows for field inspections and reports. [Compare](https://toolgpa.com/compare/gocanvas-vs-survey123) - [TrueContext](https://toolgpa.com/tools/truecontext): Mobile forms and guided workflows for field service teams. [Compare](https://toolgpa.com/compare/survey123-vs-truecontext) ## Sources The prices, plans, platforms and features above were read from these pages on Nov 13, 2026: - https://www.esri.com/en-us/arcgis/products/arcgis-survey123/overview - https://www.esri.com/en-us/arcgis/products/arcgis-online/buy - https://doc.esri.com/en/arcgis-survey123/latest/ Page: https://toolgpa.com/tools/survey123 Listed by ToolGPA (toolgpa.com).